A Russian playwright and a theatre director have been found guilty of \u201cjustifying terrorism\u201d by a military court in Moscow.<\/b><\/p>\n
Director Yevgenia Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petrichuk were sentenced to six years each for the production of their play The Brave Falcon Finist.<\/p>\n
Loosely based on true events, the play tells the story of Russian women who travelled to Syria during the country’s civil war to marry members of the Islamic State group.<\/p>\n
The two women’s defence lawyer vowed to appeal against the verdict.<\/p>\n
Held partly behind closed doors, the trial heightened alarm about freedom of expression in Russia among members of the country’s artistic community.<\/p>\n
In addition to being jailed, both women will be banned from “administering websites” for three years after their release.<\/p>\n
In custody since May 2023, they will now be sent to a penal colony to serve their sentences, according to Russian news agency RBC.<\/p>\n
The prosecution said the women had formed a positive opinion of IS and prosecutor Yekaterina Denisova argued the play contained “signs of justification of terrorism”, according to RBC.<\/p>\n
At the beginning of the trial in late May, Berkovich, 39, and Petrichuk, 44, said they had staged the play because they opposed terrorism.<\/p>\n
Berkovich said the performance had been put on to “prevent terrorism”, adding she had “nothing but condemnation and disgust” for terrorists.<\/p>\n
“I have absolutely no idea what this selection of words has to do with me… I have never shared any forms of Islam, radical or otherwise,” RBC quoted Berkovich as saying.<\/p>\n
Both she and Petriychuk maintained their innocence throughout the trial.<\/p>\n
Speaking after the women had been sentenced, defence lawyer Ksenia Karpinskaya described the hearing as “absolutely illegal” and “unfair” and pledged to appeal against it though there was “little hope”.<\/p>\n
“I want you to know that these girls are absolutely innocent,” the lawyer added.<\/p>\n
Supporters of Berkovich have suggested her prosecution was linked to a series of poems she wrote criticising Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Russia’s artistic community has come under increasing pressure from the Kremlin since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.<\/p>\n
Several high-profile Russian artists, writers and journalists have come out in support of the women, including newspaper editor Dmitry Muratov and actress Yulia Peresild.<\/p>\n
The play, which premiered in 2020, won two Golden Mask Theatre Awards for best playwright and best costumes.<\/p>\n
In recent months, Russia has been subjected to deadly attacks by Islamist militants in both\u00a0Moscow<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Dagestan<\/a>. The Kremlin has made unsubstantiated suggestions that Ukraine was involved in both incidents.<\/p>\n Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"